Germany
opposed to USA’s second resolution on IraqNew Delhi, March 4The visiting German President, Mr
Johannes Rau, today stressed the need for doing everything to avoid a
war in Iraq and expressed opposition to a US-initiated second resolution
before the United Nations on Iraq.

Lapang
sworn in as CMShillong, March 4A 38-member coalition ministry of
the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance headed by Mr D.D. Lapang was sworn-in
here today evening. The Governor M.M. Jacob, first administered the oath
of office to the 60-year-old Lapang, followed by the 38 others, of whom
28 were of cabinet rank and 10 ministers of state.

It’s
victory over communalism: CongNew Delhi, March 4The Congress has said its victory
in Himachal Pradesh was a triumph of “liberal forces over forces of
communalism.” Congress chief spokesperson Jaipal Reddy said Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and other BJP leaders had tried to
implement the “Gujarat formula” in Himachal Pradesh, but failed in
their attempt.

Groupism
led to rout: AdvaniNew Delhi, March 4The rebel factor and groupism
within the BJP contributed to its defeat in Himachal Pradesh than
anti-incumbency, Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani said here today.

Former Miss India and Bollywood film star Aishwarya Rai shoots a scene in the Bengali movie
"Chokher Bali" (Envy) in Kolkata
on Tuesday. The film will be released at the end of this year and marks Rai's first Bengali language motion picture.
— Reuters

A model sashays down the ramp for the national launch of Italian leather
shoes "Marcco Ricci" in Mumbai on Monday. — PTI

Karzai
visit assumes significanceNew Delhi, March 4The loose cannons of the Taliban
and the Al-Qaida are preparing for a major offensive against the
US-led troops in Afghanistan to destabilise the Hamid Karzai
government and to divert Washington's attention from Iraq, according
to reports received here through diplomatic channels.

Govt to
set up POTA review panelNew Delhi, March 4The government was today put on
the mat by Opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha virtually compelling
it to agree to set up a review committee for the complaints in regard
to the misuse of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) by the states.

‘Give
suggestions on Budget to FM’New Delhi, March 4Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani
cut short the attempts of some of the BJP MPs to demand a rollback on
urea price hike during a parliamentary party meeting this morning.

NORTH INDIA IN
PARLIAMENTPunjab’s share of
loan decreasesNew Delhi, March 4Punjab’s share of outstanding
loan towards the Centre decreased from Rs 12,463 crore as on March
2001 to Rs 8,855.56 crore as on March 31, 2002, Finance and Company
Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh told the Rajya Sabha today.

A view of an examination hall during the first day of the CBSE
examinations in a school in Bhopal on Monday. — PTI

Bush talks to VajpayeeNew Delhi, March 4A day after he talked about the US “failure” to persuade Pakistan to stop cross-border terrorism, President George W Bush spoke to Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee today and assured him that Washington would continue to apply pressure on Islamabad on the issue.

Scribe flees Pak after ISI torture
New Delhi, March 4Yet another Pakistani journalist has fled the country after he was subjected to inhuman
treatment by the ISI for exposing corruption in the North-West Frontier Province’s government, reports a US-based Pakistani news portal.

Identify
problems, NCM tells statesNew Delhi, March 4The National Commission for
Minorities (NCM) plans to strengthen minorities commissions in various
states by recommending that they be given statutory powers.

Scribes’ salary: anomaly removed
New Delhi, March 4The Union Cabinet today approved a proposal to allow the same rate of increment to working journalists as that applicable to non-journalists across the span of revised pay scales under the Manisana Wage Board for all groups of employees of newspaper industry.

Video

Large-scale
depletion of glaciers in the Bhagirathi river basin in
Uttaranchal alarms environmentalists. (28k,
56k)

Germany opposed to USA’s
second resolution
on Iraq
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 4
The visiting German President, Mr Johannes Rau, today stressed the need for doing everything to avoid a war in Iraq and expressed opposition to a US-initiated second resolution before the United Nations on Iraq.

Mr Rau said at a news conference here that India and Germany shared the hope that the activities of UN inspectors would help fulfil the goal of complete disarmament of Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction. The two countries shared views on the Iraq crisis, he added.

"The UN inspectors in Iraq are by and large doing a good job. We hope that Iraq’s disarmament by peaceful means is possible... A new resolution (by UN Security Council) is not needed at this stage," he said on the eve of a crucial meeting of the Security Council to discuss the Iraq crisis.

He, however, parried a question whether Germany backed India’s candidature for permanent membership of an enlarged Security Council. He merely remarked: "Germany has repeatedly expressed its understanding of this wish of India, particularly in view of its size as also its importance".

Answering questions related to the India-Pakistan row, Mr Rau advised the two countries to remain patient. In this context, he pointed out that until the end of 1980s, Europe was a divided continent and few thought that they would ever overcome the sharp divisions. But the "miracle" had taken place in the form of German unity, he said.

Asked if Pakistan’s continued support to cross-border terrorism figured in his talks with Indian leaders, he said New Delhi did express its disappointment with Islamabad’s attitude. "I usually avoid counselling on my trips, but the integration of a deeply divided Europe is a good example for others to follow."

The German President, however, said his country shared the Indian position that terrorism in all its forms should be eliminated and that it could not be allowed to fester on religious or other grounds.

Mr Rau said the objective of his visit was to further enhance the "already good bilateral relations" as also strengthen cooperation in business, trade, science and culture and added that his country would continue to encourage more Indian students to pursue higher education there.

New Delhi, March 4
The Congress has said its victory in Himachal Pradesh was a triumph of “liberal forces over forces of communalism.”

Congress chief spokesperson Jaipal Reddy said Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and other BJP leaders had tried to implement the “Gujarat formula” in Himachal Pradesh, but failed in their attempt.

Mr Reddy said the Prime Minister tried to explain the defeat of the BJP by pointing to internal differences in the party. “But that explanation is half-hearted. The Prime Minister had himself admitted that there was no enthusiasm in the response from people who attended his election meetings,”

Mr Reddy said Mr Vajpayee was giving excuses and not causes for the BJP’s defeat. “The Congress victory in Himachal Pradesh is an indication that the people are bothered about the quality of administration,” he claimed.

To a question on the Congress opposing a legislation on cow slaughter in view of rejection of the ‘Hindutva’ agenda during the poll, Mr Reddy said the party would oppose any legislation that smacked of communalism. “But secularism does not mean rejection of negation of religion or disrespect of religious sentiments,” he explained.

To a question, he said the party accepted its defeat. On Tripura or Nagaland, he said the party suffered because NDA leaders succeeded in giving an impression in the state that the Congress was opposed to the peace process. He pointed out the Congress remained the single largest party in the state.

New Delhi, March 4
The rebel factor and groupism within the BJP contributed to its defeat in Himachal Pradesh than anti-incumbency, Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani said here today.

Addressing the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting, he said the analysis of the election results indicated that the party’s official and 20-25 rebel candidates together secured more votes than the winning Congress candidates.

The party should take this as a lesson and unitedly prepare and face the forthcoming Assembly poll in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Delhi, Mr Advani was quoted as saying by the BJP Parliamentary Party spokesman.

New Delhi, March 4
The loose cannons of the Taliban and the Al-Qaida are preparing for a major offensive against the US-led troops in Afghanistan to destabilise the Hamid Karzai government and to divert Washington's attention from Iraq, according to reports received here through diplomatic channels.

The political and law and order situation in Afghanistan would be high on India's agenda when President Karzai arrives here tomorrow on an official visit.

The planned major offensive against the 8000-strong US troops and 4800-member International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan has the blessings of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), the reports said.

Concerned over such reports, two top officials from the USA and the United Kingdom visited Islamabad in the last week of January and are understood to have asked the Pervez Musharraf regime to take corrective measures. Gen Tommy Franks, head of the US Central Command who is also tipped to lead the US attack on Iraq, and Mr Tom Phillips, Britain's special representative for Afghanistan who led a British delegation, were closeted with top Pakistani officials.

Mr Karzai, who was earlier scheduled to arrive here on February 28 from the USA, could not stick to his original schedule because of bad weather in Washington. The next couple of days did not suit because of a busy schedule of a number of foreign dignitaries who were to visit India from March 1 to 4, including German President Johannes Rau. Mr Karzai is now coming from Qatar where he has gone to attend an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC).

Mr Karzai will have talks with the top Indian leadership on March 6, including President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha. Mr Karzai would also be visiting Shimla on March 7.

Sources said Mr Karzai would share with the Indian leadership the discussions he had with top officials of the Bush administration in Washington.

Mr Karzai's visit is going to be crucial, especially because the Vajpayee government has stepped up its diplomatic and political activities in Afghanistan. New Delhi is determined to deny Pakistan the advantage of using Afghanistan for "strategic depth".

New Delhi, March 4
The government was today put on the mat by Opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha virtually compelling it to agree to set up a review committee for the complaints in regard to the misuse of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) by the states.

Only after Leader of the House Jaswant Singh gave a clear assurance in the Rajya Sabha of setting up the committee under Section 60 of POTA did the Opposition members particularly Congress leaders namely Mr Pranab Mukherjee and Mr Kapil Sibal withdraw their amendments to the motion of thanks on the President’s Address to the Joint Session of Parliament in the Opposition-dominated Rajya Sabha.

Two separate amendments had been moved by Mr Mukherjee and Mr Sibal and they chose to club them together before taking a decision on withdrawing them. They said they would withdraw the amendments only after an assurance from the government.

The Finance Minister also promised that the government would do everything in its power to ensure that POTA was not misused.

The House witnessed acrimonious exchanges between the DMK and the AIADMK when DMK member V. Virumbi brought up the issue of the arrest of MDMK MP Y. Gopalaswamy by the Tamil Nadu Government.

He charged that the MPs who voted for POTA to fight terrorism and anti-social elements themselves were targeted by the state government and the administration was preparing to misuse it against more MPs. AIADMK members vociferously protested the statements of Mr
Virumbi.

New Delhi, March 4
Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani cut short the attempts of some of the BJP MPs to demand a rollback on urea price hike during a parliamentary party meeting this morning. Mr Advani asked them to list their grievances on the Budget and represent collectively so that Finance Minister Jaswant Singh could consider the issue in the right perspective.

According to party sources, as many as 20 BJP MPs, wanted to voice their concern against the hike in urea price and a proposal to introduce Value Added Tax.

However, as soon as four to five members, including Union Minister Sangapriya Gautam, demanded that the Centre should reconsider urea price hike, Mr Advani intervened and asked them to collectively petition the Finance Minister so that he could consider the issue in the right perspective.

Some of the members also expressed concern over the proposal to implement VAT, without taking the trading community into confidence. Later briefing newspersons, BJP Parliamentary Party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra said Mr Advani had asked the BJP MPs to desist from going public on the issue and give their representation on the issue to Mr Jaswant Singh.

NORTH INDIA IN PARLIAMENT
Punjab’s share of loan decreases
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 4
Punjab’s share of outstanding loan towards the Centre decreased from Rs 12,463 crore as on March 2001 to Rs 8,855.56 crore as on March 31, 2002, Finance and Company Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh told the Rajya Sabha today.

While the Centre’s outstanding loan against Haryana registered an increase from Rs 5,238.71 crore to Rs 5,290.46 crore in 2002, in case of Himachal Pradesh, this amount increased from Rs 2,697.56 crore in 2001 to Rs 2,712.05 crore in 2002, the minister informed the House.

BANK CREDIT: The Minister of State for Finance and Company Affairs, Mr Anandrao V. Adsul, told the House that the Gross Bank Credit by all scheduled commercial banks in 2002 (September) was Rs 21,00,459 lakh in Punjab; Rs 9,98,301 lakh in Chandigarh; Rs 21,1230 lakh in HP; Rs 43,0212 lakh in J&K and Rs 1,47,44,651 lakh in Haryana.

EDUCATION:
On a query by Mr Rajo Singh regarding continuing education scheme, Mr Ashok Pradhan , Minister of State for Human Resource Development informed that Rs 129.21 lakh (including the grants released to State Literacy Mission Authorities) had been given to Punjab; Rs 171.25 lakh to Chandigarh; Rs 74.1 lakh to Haryana and Rs 300.55 lakh to HP under the continuing education scheme. Regarding the Operation Blackboard Scheme, the total amount released from April 2000 to March 2001 was Rs 3,787.77 lakh to Punjab; Rs 481.60 lakh to Haryana and Rs 372.15 lakh to Jammu and Kashmir, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, Human Resource Development Minister told the Lok Sabha.

COUNTERFEIT CURRENCY:
Mr Anandrao V Adsul, Minister of State for Finance and Company Affairs informed the Rajya Sabha that the amount of counterfeit currency seized had declined from Rs 5.94 crore in year 2000 to Rs 5.31 crore in 2001 (up to March). The number of cases of seizure of such currency in 2001 was 46 in Punjab; 51 in Haryana; three in HP and 17 in Jammu and Kashmir.

New Delhi, March 4
A day after he talked about the US “failure” to persuade Pakistan to stop cross-border terrorism, President George W Bush spoke to Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee today and assured him that Washington would continue to apply pressure on Islamabad on the issue.

During the 7-minute telephonic conversation, the situation in Iraq was discussed and the ongoing stand-off between India and Pakistan was briefly touched upon, official sources said.

The Prime Minister conveyed the Indian position that it was willing to resume dialogue with Pakistan on all issues when cross-border terrorism was stopped by that country. Mr Bush assured him that the US continues to apply pressure on Pakistan on the matter of cross-border terrorism, particularly asking it to ensure that infiltration does not increase as the snow melts.
PTI

New Delhi, March 4
Yet another Pakistani journalist has fled the country after he was subjected to inhuman
treatment by the ISI for exposing corruption in the North-West Frontier Province’s government, reports a US-based Pakistani news portal.

The journalist, Abid Ullah Jan, received threats and was allegedly kidnapped by the ISI.

Writing a column the portal “South Asia Tribune, Jan, who has now sought refuge in Canada, said he was kidnapped on November 24, 2002, and it took so much of time to break his silence as the incident had left a deep impact on him.

Revealing the incident, he said after being abducted on
November 24, he was blind-folded for 12 hours after being dragged from his Peshawar residence.

He said the main reason for his being targeted was that he had exposed corruption in a series of articles published in the Frontier Post newspaper.

The authorities were using all methods of intimidation but in vain. “Nothing worked. Finally they got the right opportunity in the form of my anti-Musharraf articles. After appearance of my book — A War on Islam — and my pro-democracy articles in Pakistan weekly, the ISI got a golden opportunity to interrogate and threaten me and my family on almost a weekly basis,” he said.

Jan is the second journalist after Shaheen Sehbai who had to flee Pakistan after they exposed corruption within the regime. Sehbai is presently in the USA and runs the South Asian Tribune.

Giving the account of his questioning by the ISI, Jan said after being tied to a chair, his chief tormentor had asked him “why do you want to be a leader.”

During interrogation he came to know that he was being tailed by the intelligence agencies and even his telephones had been tapped.

“All day long I was questioned about Shaheen Sehbai, Gen Hamid Gul (former ISI DG), Imran (publisher of my book) and a few names whom I did not know....,” Jan said.

“After much questioning, I was left alone for the next 12 hours, I was set free on November 26, after being threatened to the maximum possible degree,” he said.

Narrating his release, Jan said “before dropping me at Hayat Abad, one of my kidnappers whispered to me — Remember, we took only a few seconds to nab you. That should instill some fear in you and make you act in your own interest.

“I must confess I am very scared. But I fear more for my country and innocent family members than for myself,” the journalist said.
PTI

New Delhi, March 4
The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) plans to strengthen minorities commissions in various states by recommending that they be given statutory powers.

The NCM Chairman, Mr Tarlochan Singh, told TNS here today that they would recommend to the state governments to give statutory powers to the commissions. Speaking at the end of the first meeting of heads of the state minorities commissions with NCM here, Mr Tarlochan Singh said the commission had asked the state commissions to conduct a survey to identify the problems of the minorities.

New Delhi, March 4
The Union Cabinet today approved a proposal to allow the same rate of increment to working journalists as that applicable to non-journalists across the span of revised pay scales under the Manisana Wage Board for all groups of employees of newspaper industry.

The rate of increment of working journalists as compared to non-journalists in the newspaper industry would be revised for their benefit as also to establish a rational wage structure, an official spokesman said while briefing mediapersons on the Cabinet decisions.

“The notification to this effect will be published in the official gazette soon”, he said.

The Cabinet had on November 16, 2000, accepted all proposals of the wage board for journalists and non-journalist newspaper and news agency employees with the modification that the rate of increment to be given to journalists should be at par with the rate of increment for non-journalists having comparable basic pay.

The spokesman said this, however, created an anomaly that the senior journalists after a certain stage would get lower annual increment as compared to their juniors and the rate of annual increment of such journalists would also be lowered at higher levels of basic pay in the revised pay scales.

The anomaly, he said, arose mainly because the rate of increment had been changed upto the level of comparable pay and for the other part of the scale the rate as recommended by wage board had been retained.
PTI